In the Rhythm of Calypso
by ZJeM
Summary: They went to the Laboratory Science class together but other than that, there had been absolutely nothing between them. That was until he'd almost killed her during experiments.
1. In the Rhythm of Calypso

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the _Percy Jackson_ or _Heroes of Olympus _series, RR does.

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_**In the Rhythm of Calypso**_

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**CHAPTER 1**

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It wasn't a good day. Who would call the day they almost lost their life _good_?

She wasn't too enthusiastic about working with him from the beginning. Let's face it - they barely knew each other and she certainly didn't like the crazy glints in his eyes. The fact that she sometimes cracked a smile at his stupid jokes didn't change anything... No, _anything_. And that day, Leo Valdez' clumsiness had almost killed her.

No, she didn't like him at all.

Why him? There were so many other people in the Laboratory Science class..! Ok, not _that_ many were free, as the great majority was swapping spit on every occasion, but still. And Mrs. Lupa had absolutely _had_ to pair her up with him for the experiments! Damn that woman...

**X**

_"Leo Valdez, at your service!" he said with a grin, reaching out with a hand for her to shake. She eyed him up and down, like she was considering what the best way to knock him out quietly would be._

_"I know. Reyna" she answered with reserve, completing the gesture._

_"What's your last name, Reyna?" he asked, throwing himself on a chair next to her. Her eyes narrowed._

_"I don't think that's necessary for you to know" she looked at him with her best fuck-the-hell-off expression._

_"Woah, ok, ok! No surnames, got it!" he put his hands in front of himself in a defensive pose. "So" he nervously tried to change the topic "What are we supposed to do?"_

_Their job wasn't something her and him couldn't do. How could it be if they were the two best students in the class? But, of course, something had absolutely _had_ to go wrong._

_He was pouring the content of a big beaker to their test-tube. "Ok, just don't over- YOU OVERDID IT!" she shouted, sensing the worst. _

_"Wha- _Mierda **[shit]**_!" he took his eyes from her hurriedly (was he staring at her the whole time?) and they both jumped back just in a moment for the explosion._

**X**

She was sitting on the top of the stairs of the Science building, holding her aching head in her hands, still in her apron. They had both fallen on the ground and she'd hit her head. "Um..." She rolled her eyes, hearing the voice she most wanted to avoid from now on.

"What do you want?" she groaned as Leo sat a few meters from her. Just in case.

"I... I wanted to apologize" he muttered, playing with his watch's knobs. Too scared to even look her in the eye, pathetic. She kept silent. "I just..! Got a bit distracted..." he said, casting a glance in her direction and lowering his sight again, his cheeks flushing.

She frowned. Leo Valdez embarrassed and diffident? That was a new sight for her.

"It's ok" she hurried to answer, wanting just to get rid of him once and for all.

His expression brightened. "Really..?" he asked, looking at her with a silly smile spread across his face.

"Yeah, don't bother with apologizing" she mumbled, closing her eyes. He kept sitting there, she could feel that. She opened her eyes and sent him a murderous glance. "What now?!" she groaned.

"I just..." he run a hand through his black curls "Would you like to have lunch with me..? As amends..?" he looked at her shyly.

She took a deep breath to calm herself down. First he causes a giant bruise to appear on her scalp and then he still has the guts to ask her out? She opened her mouth to say "_Not in a million years, Valdez!_" but something about his eyes, locked on hers with so much willingness, made a crack in the ice covering her heart. "Ok..." she heard her hesitating, disbelieving voice accompanied with his triumphant howl.

She was sure as hell she was going to regret it.

* * *

**ZJeM, 02.01.14**

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**From author:**

A new adventure with a I-don't-know-how-long-probably-a-few-chapters-only-SHOT, yay! :D I hope the next chapters will be longer, this is just kinda a prelude or something. :)

I'll try to keep it natural and all (research, I'm coming!) but I don't know a thing about American collage system, so there may be a few mistakes in that topic.

Anyway, if you want a really good high school/collage Leyna AU, go read _Ours _by Ary Hyuga or _Obviously _by ThePraetorLady (formerly FieldOfPaperFlowers). If they aren't the masters of the topic then I don't know who is.

THANKS FOR READING!

(The title is the cheesiest name ever, I know. XD I promise it'll make more sense with a few next chapters. :))


	2. Amends

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the _Percy Jackson_ or _Heroes of Olympus _series, RR does.

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**CHAPTER 2**

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After a silent journey of pretending they didn't know each other (from her perspective, at least), they walked into a small Caribbean restaurant a couple of minutes of walking from the campus. She'd already forgotten the place's name but it wasn't like it even mattered, right? Just walk in, survive some time alone with probably the most annoying person you know and walk out. That was the plan.

She looked at their surroundings. It wasn't anything particularly spectacular, some tropical plants (or at least trying to look like ones) here and there, a few garlands of flowers (probably fake) and a huge guy behind the counter that looked like taken out alive from travel agencies' brochures about "peaceful time spent with native Caribbeans".

Not something that might impress a girl on a first date- Wait. It _wasn't_ a date, she reminded herself.

Just amends.

He bounced to the table near a window, grinning and waving to the big guy. "Hey, Leo! Same as always?" he asked in his stentorian voice. The said guy shook his head, motioning for her to come sit on a chair he'd drawn back in the meantime.

"Today I'm giving amends to the _reina_ you see here" She rolled her eyes at the use of the Spanish word for _queen_ (seriously, _a pun_?) and sat on the chair he'd prepared for her. "Make it something special" She couldn't see his face, but she was almost 100% sure Leo'd winked at the waiter, who chuckled.

Gods, could that show just go on without her?

They were sitting in silence, waiting for their surprise order. Leo was nervously tapping his fingers on the table top and she was staring at him, cold-eyed. "Soo..." he started, giving her an uncertain smile "How's your head..?" he asked, his eyes locked on his thumbs.

"Better, thank you" she drawled out in an answer. He gulped nervously.

"Cool..." he muttered. She inhaled deeply through her nose and closed her eyes, placing her fingers on her temples. She had the feeling that her head was going to start aching again any minute. "Have you known what your name means..?" he asked after a moment of blissful silence. She opened her eyes and glared at him.

"Yeah... My father..." she hesitated. She wouldn't tell him about her childhood, what for? "He taught me some Spanish" she hurried to say instead.

He nodded slowly. "Ah... You aren't from California, are you?" he blurted out before he could bite his tongue. Her eyes narrowed. Uhuh. Sensitive topic..? "B-but it's not even my business and all so maybe we'll just-! Oh look, Joe's ready!" he'd never been as thankful to the waiter as in that moment, when he saved him from utter humiliation carrying two evaporative plates of _pollo en fricasé_ to their table.

"Enjoy your meal" the big guy smiled at them and winked at Leo. She would have rolled her eyes yet again at the two's synthesis, if she wasn't staring at the dish, wide-eyed. Last time she'd eaten it, it was... Before Circe's Island? Dad had used to make it...

"Um... Is everything ok..?" she heard Leo's uncertain voice. She blinked a few times and took her eyes away from the plate.

"Yeah, it's perfect" she answered and, before she could even record what she was doing, smiled at him. As his face covered with a deep shade of red, she immediately regretted it. Gods, girl! Don't be all flirty with _him_! "So... Let's eat..!" she hurried to take the cutlery in her hands and noticed with a relief that he did the same.

**X**

"It was... WOW..." Leo mumbled, patting on his stomach with a delighted look on his face. "You excelled yourself, _man_!" he called out to Joe taking an order from some couple and the said_ man_ smirked. "Did you like it, Reyna?" he asked, looking at herself cleaning her mouth with a napkin. Did she like it? She hadn't eaten anything so delicious in a long, long time...

"Yes, very much" she answered with reserve, not wanting to sound _too _pleased. A wide smile spread across his face anyway. She felt her ears burning. It wasn't like his face looked just too adorable in that moment, no, no. "Thank you for the lunch" she said, standing up suddenly.

"Whaaat?! Don't tell me you're gonna leave already?!" he whined, his eyebrows drawing close in a true hurt. She shook her head slightly, not looking him in his pleading eyes.

"I have... Classes to attend to and..." she mumbled, taking her bag from her chair. He stood up too.

"Me too but we'll make it anyway!" seeing that it left no effect, he grabbed her forearm, which surprised them both. She looked him in the eye, her own widened, and he pulled back his hand, blushing furiously. "I mean..." he run his fingers through his curls, his sight fastened on the ground "Please stay... If you want to..." he locked his eyes on hers.

They stood in awkward silence for a while. She was well aware that everybody was looking at them. Well, at least Joe, as the couple had decided to physically strenghten their bond by exploring every bit of their bodies and mouths over and over again. She suddenly felt pretty weird alone only with him, a Caribbean tank-man and the making out lovebirds. She prepared for a leave but made the mistake of looking in his eyes again. They were pleading for her to stay, showing the desperate need to keep her there with him. What made him so longing for _her_..?

Damn, she was becoming soft.

"Ok" she sighed, falling on the chair again. He made a strange sound of half chuckle, half relieved sigh and sat down too.

There was silence between them again. She crossed her arms on her chest, waiting, and could almost see gear-wheels in his head trying to come up with something, _anything_ to make her stay there worth it. "Um..." he finally started uncertainly "Would you like to meet the love of my life?" he blurted out. She lifted her eyebrow.

"Who?" she asked dryly. Why would she even want to meet her? What a strange thing to ask.

"Not _who_" he grinned. "I'd say _what_! Joe!" And before she could even protest, the big guy played a song from the radio standing on the counter. She knew that rhythm. Caribbean music..?

"This is it!" Leo drew aside his arms, standing up and moving in the tact of the music. Did she have to mention that he wasn't as good of a dancer as he probably thought he was? "The love of my life, the gods' gift, _calypso_!" Really? He called Caribbean music _the love of his life_? She unconsciously snorted with laughter at the sight of his hips' clumsy moves. Unfortunately, he heard that.

"No laughing, _reina_, until you show me how _you_ dance!" he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her after him to the improvised dance floor in the table-less middle of the restaurant.

"Wha-?!" she only managed to give out before he threw her arms around his neck and put his hands somewhere in between her waist and her hips, swaying them both in the rhythm with an irremovable grin plastered to his face. She felt her cheeks flushing again. "What are you doing?!" she asked, her voice a bit higher than she'd like it to be.

He chuckled. "Showing you what great fun is, of course!" he spun her around. She had to admit, she _did_ consider it a nice way of spending time. But it was a long time earlier, with _her father_, for gods' sake! She wanted to free from his grip but...

No.

No, no, no, no.

_No, no, no, no, no, no, no!_

Why couldn't she make a single move towards pulling away..?

Was she..?

Was she _enjoying_ his closeness, the gleam in his eyes, his warm touch on her body and their crazy almost-dance..?

No way.

* * *

**ZJeM, 03.01.14**

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**From author:**

I'm sorry it's not longer, just decided to end it with a cliffhanger, buhahaha. XD

I know their dance probably isn't a tiny bit like any Caribbean dance would be, but I don't care. Just imagine it as casual swaying to the music. ;)

Please google _pollo en fricasé_. When I saw this, I almost started drooling. :D

THANKS FOR READING!


	3. Interruptions

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the _Percy Jackson_ or _Heroes of Olympus _series, RR does.

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**CHAPTER 3**

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She pulled away fiercely. "I really have to go..!" she mumbled, feeling her cheeks flushing. She stormed to the chair to get her stuff and almost run out of the restaurant, her mid-heeled shoes clicking hurriedly on the floor, leaving him speechless in the middle of the dance floor, staring at the door the ending of her pitch-black braid had just disappeared behind.

"She definitely likes you" Joe grinned. Leo felt his ears burning.

"How come?! She's just run away when it's been starting to get all cuddly and-" he broke off with a terrified look in his eyes and fell on a bar stool in front of the counter "_Mierda_, have I overdone it?!" he hid his face in his hands. Joe chuckled and patted him on his shoulder comfortingly, reaching for another glass to wipe.

"Don't you give up now, little heart-eater" the big guy smiled encouraging, however struggling to hide a grin. "I bet it's gonna get even more interesting..."

Leo snorted. "You've always had great fun when I was suffering, huh?" Joe laughed in his stentorian voice, making the lovebirds jump up in surprise. Leo sighed and fell back into the hole of depressing thoughts. How was he going to make up for what he'd done?

**X**

She was pacing in the direction of the campus, trying to get rid of her heart's pounding in her chest. "_No_" she'd been telling herself the whole time "_What happened means _nothing_! It was just a misunderstanding of some kind! I probably read my subconsciousness' signals wrong! It's not like I was attracted to-_" What interrupted her panicky thoughts was somebody walking from the alley on the right, somebody she absolutely _had _to crash into. She fell on the ground for the second time that day and cursed quietly. She groaned at her heartening luck and stood up without further complaining.

Oh no.

Like her day hadn't already been totally screwed up.

Sitting on the ground, confused, was her life-long [crush] good friend. Well, at least high-school-long [crush] good friend, namely Jason Grace. His perfect blond hair messy, like always, his electric-blue eyes (she'd known them all too well) cloudy with the overdose of thoughts rushing through his mind, his face decorated with a delicate pout that made the scar on his upper lip curve a tiny little bit. Not that she usually took those details in notice.

"I'm sorry..!" she rushed to say, feeling her ears burning against her will. She reached out to help him stand up and that was the moment he'd finally realized he knew her.

"Reyna? I'm sorry! Always in another dimension, you know it best!" he laughed, his perfect, joyful laugh leaving her no choice but to chuckle a tiny little bit too. "What are you doing here? You don't have classes or anything?" he asked with almost parental concern. (Not that she'd known much about such concern recently.)

"I actually am coming back from lunch" she said before she could bite her tongue. Jason lifted his eyebrow.

"You? Eating lunch outside the campus?" he smiled one of his hundreds of sweet smiles. "Who is he?" he asked jokingly. She felt her face turning red.

"Can't I just go eat somewhere else once in a while?!" she said nervously, (hopefully) covering the embarrassment in her eyes with her fringe. "And now, if you could excuse me, I may have a chance to actually make it on time..." She looked at her watch and gasped. Damn, it really _was_ late! "I'll see you later!" she waved to his surprised self one last time and nearly run to the campus.

Damn Leo.

Damn Jason.

Damn boys.

Damn people in general.

Couldn't she just finally have some peace?

**X X X**

She was sitting in her Ancient Roman History class, tapping her pencil on her notebook impatiently. She'd long lost any idea what the lecturer was talking about. Unusual for her, she couldn't focus on today's subject and that annoyed her, throwing her brain off it's track even more, and annoying her further. The never-ending loop.

She threw the pencil on the opened book and rubbed her temples. All she'd wanted to do when she'd woken up that morning was go to her classes and learn something useful that could one day get her somewhere in her life. That was her unchangeable plan for all her existence, to be precise. She couldn't stand any interruptions. At least that day she could actually _name_ the interruption and focus on blaming _him_, instead of being angry with herself.

Stupid Valdez. First almost sending her to a hospital and then taking her to that strange diner and doing strange things. Why had she even agreed to let him take her there in the first place?! What was worse, now he was like a pest in her thoughts. Whatever she wanted to focus on, he jumped out like a freakin toy clown. Damn him. Screwing up her day like that! She'd make him pay, only she had yet to know how...

She sighed, hearing the noise made by her colleagues that informed her about the lecture being finished. She packed her stuff and went to her locker to throw some dead weight out of her bag.

**X**

Approaching the locker, she felt some girls' stares on herself and turned to send them her famous death-glare. That only caused them to giggle, covering their red faces with their hands like that could even conceal anything. What the hell?! She turned around to her locker and felt blood leave her face.

Plugged into it's vent hole she saw a beautiful red Flor de Maga. Who knew her so well to know it was her favorite flower..? (One part of her brain that she quickly shushed down whispered that maybe it'd been from Jason...) What caught her eye was a tiny piece of paper bound to the flower's stem. She released it and read the only three words that were there, scribbled hurriedly in a messy writing. Her eyes widened and she felt blood rushing to her cheeks again, this time in an overdose.

_I'm sorry. Leo_

That damn interruption...

* * *

**ZJeM, 04-06.01.14**

* * *

**From author:**

One thing: I have no idea if any university in the US offers _Ancient Roman History_ and I was too lazy to check it.

The second thing: I'm really sorry it's this short but I'm kinda struggling from the writer's block (after 1,5 chaps ;p) and I'm depressed today and decided to post it anyway to maybe cheer myself up.

THANKS FOR READING!


	4. Anxiety

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the _Percy Jackson_ or _Heroes of Olympus _series, RR does.

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**CHAPTER 4**

* * *

"Where were you?" Of course he wouldn't have escaped Piper's inconvenient questions and so, she caught him when he was leaving the campus for the day.

They'd been friends long before they'd both moved from New York to Los Angeles, since the very beginning of their crazy high school times. She'd been similar to him, with her he could have just chilled out, like with few of their peers then. Yeah, he'd had other friends. But Piper was more than just _a friend_, she was his _best friend_, his partner in crime. Girly teenage magazines would have probably called them BFF. Well, simply put, she was like a sister to him.

"Nyssa told me she didn't see you in the workshop today" He was going to the Machine and Assembly Language class with the said girl but had never expected her to actually notice when he wasn't around. He sighed. Damn his killing good-looks.

"Geez, Beauty Queen, do I have to give you reports on everything I do?" he cut her off, praying to whoever was ruling up there that he hadn't been blushing. Piper lifted her eyebrow.

"Somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed today?" she asked, surprised. He shook his head nervously and tried to grin at her.

"Nah, you know me. Just can't stand any limiting of the sweet freedom" he inhaled deeply and drew aside his arms to add some dramatic effect and (hopefully) make her believe he was fine.

She only rolled her eyes. Before she could have said anything else, the two of them saw Jason waving to them from beside his car.

"Hey, Superman!" Leo greeted when they approached him. "Saved some lives today?" he asked, hoping to move the other two's attention from him to his second best friend.

Jason smiled. "Not really. Just almost killed Reyna instead" Leo cursed in his head, almost not noticing the drop in Piper's mood. From all the girls around, it had to be _her_! And Jason absolutely _had _to remind his about _that_!

He didn't even know why he was bothered so much with the humiliation he'd brought upon himself. Not the first time, not the last one either, right? But with Reyna, something felt different. Maybe it was because it had been the first time he'd got to take a girl to _Taíno's_? He shook his head. No time for such thoughts.

"You coming, man?" he heard Jason call and cursed again, this time aloud, turning around to see his friends already in the blue Toyota Avensis. Damn, Valdez! Don't lose focus or they'll start asking _questions_!

"Yeah, I'm coming!" he hurried to say, jumping in the back seat.

Still fearing they would bother him without need, he tried to bring up a new topic. "Man, how many times have I already told you to change the drive to something... Dunno... _Cool_?" Piper snorted with laughter. "I bet your dad wouldn't have anything against splashing out on a new car for his baby boy" he added, grinning. Teasing, that was his field for display.

He saw Jason roll his eyes in the rear-view mirror. "I don't need one. Toyota's doing all the job just fine" he said yet again.

Leo was just opening his mouth to counterattack when he saw _her_. Reyna was coming out of one of the campus' buildings, going in the direction of the parking lot. She was carrying the flower from him, he noticed with surprise. However it brought him a great amount of relief, he suddenly felt an untamable need to throw himself on the seat on his left to hide from her sight.

What was happening to him?

"What's wrong?" Jason asked the question from Leo's head out loud. The asked one tried not to panic and to come up with an answer that would satisfy his _too _nosy friends.

"Uh... Just dropped something..." he said, hoping they hadn't heard the note of uncertainty in his voice that he obviously had. Please, please, please.

He looked in the window and straightened, seeing that he was safe. _For then_.

Jason and Piper exchanged glances that didn't foretell him anything good. Damn, they'd seen through his disguise.

"What have you done to Reyna?" Piper had never been the one to beat around the bush. He exhaled slowly, one part of his brain wondering if by doing that he could have suffocated and saved himself from the awaiting interrogation.

"Hey, why have he actually had to _do_ anything? Maybe it was just a misunderstanding or something like that..?" Jason tried to defend him, sounding unconvincing even for himself.

"_Thanks man, that was very helpful..._" Leo thought, seeing Piper's eyes fastened on himself in the rear-view mirror. He was hoping she couldn't see the blush he felt was creeping its way on his face.

"So?" Piper demanded an answer "What's bothering you?" There was silence between the three. Sure, they were his best friends, talking with them had helped him a countless amount of times but... What should he say if even himself didn't really know what was going on in his head?

He sighed. "I'm not sure, actually..." His friends exchanged nervous glances again. Really? He _could_ see them, didn't they know that?

"What do you mean _you don't know_..?" Jason said cautiously, stopping on a red light. "Does it really have to do something with Reyna..?" he added after a moment of hesitation.

"Woah, man, one question at a time, please!" Leo put his hands in front of him in a defensive gesture.

"Is it about Reyna?" Piper cut in between their verbal exchange with a mix of worry and hope in her voice. He couldn't blame her. If Reyna now had anything to do with him, she wouldn't be Piper's rival anymore, as Jason's best friend from high school times. Not that the blond gave her anything to fear. For Leo's taste, in _this_ matter he was almost too blind for it to be believable in.

Wait. Had he just thought about Reyna being interested in a relationship with him? He snorted quietly. Not happening in a million years, Valdez.

"Yeah, it's about her" he finally said, feeling himself getting hotter while Piper's eyes were trying to pierce his skull through. "I think I totally screwed up" he added, smiling pessimistically.

"You made a move on her?" Jason asked, surprised. Piper sent him a jealous glare he obviously didn't get the way he was supposed to.

"No! That's the problem! I didn't do anything!" Leo exclaimed. "I don't even know why it's the way it is now!"

Piper lifted an eyebrow. "_The way it is now_ meaning..? Have you argued or something?" she asked, ably re-braiding one of the thin braids falling on her face. Leo kept silent. "You haven't even talked to her, have you?" Piper asked skeptically.

Leo nodded. "Yup. Dunno why, but I'm scared off my ass even _thinking_ about it, not mentioning _doing_ it..." Jason shook his head, motioning for the car on their right to go first.

"I don't understand. So, what have you done to her?" the blond asked, concern heard in his voice. Piper bit her lip. Leo felt like Hulk now, only that he was red instead of green.

"Well..." he muttered "I was working with her in the lab and there was an explosion, my fault, obviously!" Jason and Piper exchanged surprised glances. Leo making a mistake in Chemistry?

He didn't notice that as he was starting to turn on his babble mode which activated when he was nervous. "And I thought _What the hell? _and invited her for lunch at _Taíno's_, as amends, and it was pretty amazing and then Joe played some calypso and we started dancing!" Jason's eyebrows travelled up as he stopped in front of their apartment. Reyna _dancing_? The only time he saw that was at the prom, when she was having the first dance of the night with him. Her first and _only _dance then, to be precise.

Leo kept talking. "And then she run away! I figured I'd probably done something wrong so I wrote her a note and bound it to that flower she was carrying!" His head fell in his hands. "I don't know why but I'm too scared to talk to her and she probably hates me and I don't know what I should do!" he finished, panting for oxygen to be an exchange for the overused air in his lungs.

Piper smiled gently. "The Casanova finally trapped? That's kinda cute" He looked at her with despair in his eyes.

"It's not funny, Pip-"

"I think you should talk to her" Jason interrupted the beginning of their half-serious fight. "Reyna isn't the type to keep grudges. I bet she's already forgiven you, if she's ever had anything to forgive, that is" he smiled and the three of them got out of the car. "I bet you've just overinterprated things. Come on, man, a talk won't kill you" he said, patting on his friend's back while Piper was looking for the keys in her bag.

"Yeah... I'll try..." Leo tried to smile and keep the thoughts of dying from Reyna's hand out of his mind... At least for the dinner time.

* * *

**ZJeM, 07-09.01.14**

* * *

**From author:**

"The **Taíno** were seafaring indigenous peoples of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. They were one of the Arawak peoples of South America, and the Taíno language was a member of the Arawakan language family of northern South America." - thank you, aunt Wiki.

I'd like to thank hi for their review, as I couldn't have sent a PM to them. :D

2 follows and 1 favorite, I'm impressed. ;)

I'm going to finally write some more Leo-Reyna interaction, only I have to come up with any idea how to do this. XD

THANKS FOR READING!


	5. The Talk

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the _Percy Jackson_ or _Heroes of Olympus _series, RR does.

* * *

**CHAPTER 5**

* * *

Of course she would have probably been avoiding him, but he hadn't expected her to be _that _good at it.

He'd been trying to catch her for three days and hadn't succeeded. Of course, he was trying to ignore the anxiety of the thought of her kicking his ass or at least throwing the heaviest curses at him. Which, he felt, was not that implausible with her. But the day had come. On Friday, they were having Laboratory Science together again.

He gulped and pushed the door open. She was sitting in her usual place by the window, black eyes fastened on the students passing in every direction on the pavements below. He felt a mixture of relief and panic wash over him as he approached her, his legs shaking a bit.

Why was she having such a strong effect on him?

"Um... May I..?" he asked, his voice a bit higher than he'd like it to be, motioning for the seat on her right. She closed her eyes, as in _count_ _to ten to stop your murder urges_, throwing her braid from her shoulder to her back. His eyes instinctively followed the moving end of the plait and he felt heat rushing to his cheeks when he realized he'd been staring at... Well, her jeans' back pockets.

He almost hadn't heard her blank "Yes" when she was eyeing him up and down. He'd immediately regretted pulling a random T-shirt (if it didn't stink, it was still ok to wear) and jeans shorts on. What would be worthy the queen? A suit and a bow tie, maybe?

He mumbled a shy "Thanks" and sat carefully next to her.

They were sitting in silence even though the class hadn't started yet. How was he supposed to start a conversation? And, more importantly, how to apologize yet again, not really knowing what exactly made her run away? He knew only one thing - he _had_ to do something. He felt she was probably still angry with him and certainly didn't want that. He'd make better what he'd screwed up no matter what. Or at least he'd get a clear order of _stay away, _badulaque.

Why was he sitting there? Was he trying to make a move on her again? What for? Gods, he didn't think she was interested, did he? Because she wasn't, no matter how strangely tight her chest had been and how her hands were sweating when he was so close. No, that had nothing to do with him. The climate in the class had barely ever been pleasant, that was all.

Finally, the action had started, improving the awkward atmosphere between them, when they were cooperating to complete the task given. Fortunately, it went on without explosions and similar dangerous events, even though she let him maneuver the test-tubes with highly reactive substances and use the burner. She'd gladly have done it all herself, if it wasn't for the teacher's directions and his desperate enthusiasm towards helping her out. Let him have the satisfaction, why not?

**X**

They finished cleaning up the station in the moment Mrs. Lupa called it a day. Reyna picked up her bag and wanted to walk out from the class, her chin high, not bothering to say goodbye to him.

He had other plans, as he stood up too, blocking her way (clearly on purpose). She looked him in the eye, her eyebrow rising in a questioning look.

He fastened his eyes on the floor. Another one having respect for her, huh? Good.

"I was thinking..." he mumbled, glancing at her shyly (damn, where was his impudence when he needed it?!) "Maybe I could walk you to... Wherever you're going now..?" he stuck his hands into his pants' pockets, his whole body tense, she noticed. Not that she was paying special attention to his body at all.

She frowned. "What for?" she asked, crossing her arms on her chest.

He raised his head, returning the look. "I think you're still mad at me and I want to make it better" he blurted in one breath. She raised both her eyebrows. His eyes were piercing hers, waiting.

"Go where you want..." she muttered, forcing her way past him and trying not to gasp at the feeling of his heat on her skin. Gods, was such body temperature even normal?!

As she predicted, he didn't change his mind and followed her.

**X**

After a few moments of struggle, he finally matched her pace. They were going through the lawn in silence, people staring at the unusual pair. Reyna sighed quietly. The gossiping was going to start with a lightning's speed... Finally, the silence of him bothering her as much as to go with her, but not saying anything, annoyed her to the point of starting a conversation herself.

"So? Why do you think I'm mad?" she asked, staring at him sharply. He blinked a few times and returned the look, frowning.

"You're not?" he answered with a question. She rolled her eyes and cursed under her breath. Why were they always overinterpreting things? Herself not being extremely kind didn't mean she had to especially dislike somebody. Jason was thinking like that when it came to his new girlfriend, that Piper girl... Well, it was true in that case. But hey! She _was_ trying hard to stay diplomatic!

"Did anything I should be angry about happen?" she countered. He shrugged, his blush not escaping her attention.

"Dunno... Just thought that maybe I went overboard..." despite his words, she could hear relief in his voice. "I mean, why would you run away? And why couldn't I catch you for the past three days?" he asked, a weak smile on his lips.

She felt her cheeks flushing and shook her head, hoping to get rid of the ridiculous feeling of her gut's twitch at the sight of the skin on his cheek bulging adorably with the smile. How stupid of her to even think like that.

"First of all..." she swallowed and cleared her throat, trying to return to her professional approach towards him "I didn't run away, I needed to go to my classes" she lied smoothly. Well, it wasn't a lie in 100%, but wasn't the entire truth either... But those few percents she was trying hard to forget. "And you couldn't catch me, because we probably have classes in different sides of the campus. No plot here" He nodded affirmatively, a grin creeping its way onto his face.

"So we're good?" he chuckled lightly, exhaled and chuckled again. "I was scared off my ass to talk to you and here you're even more gorgeous than I thought, not being a drama queen like many girls I've screwed up with!" he blurted without thinking. When what he'd said sunk in, his face turned to a deep shade of red. "I mean... Yeah, you're gorgeous..." he mumbled and laughed nervously, ruffling his hair.

Her eyes widened. "Thank you, I guess..." she felt her ears burning and couldn't stand the urge to lower her eyes. Pathetic. Be proud, _reina_!

Wait. Had she just called herself with _his _nickname?!

"I... Really have to go..!" she said, quickening her pace.

"Oh..." was the only word that escaped him when she went ahead of him. He nearly run to look at her face again. She returned the look.

"What?" she asked, starting to feel stalked and not knowing why it didn't feel as bad as it should.

Yeah, _what_? What did he want to say? He thought for a moment, struggling to keep up with the speed (damn, was she an addict walker or something?). He'd got to talk to her. He'd found out she wasn't mad. That didn't mean she hadn't dumped him but was still a good thing... But hey! It all being only his touchiness meant nothing but one thing...

She still hadn't said _no_.

He smirked at the crazy thought forming in his head. He didn't try to stop it. (As if that ever even worked!)

Uhuh. She didn't like that look. What had he come up with?

He parted his lips, his smirk widening. The words escaped his mouth before any reasonable part of his brain had got to make an attempt to stop them.

"What would you say at _pollo en fricasé_ for lunch?"

* * *

**ZJeM, 12.01.14**

* * *

**From author:**

Yeah, I know, I've made a loop in the story. I don't care, that's what my mind's come up with.

Dunno when the next update will be. Maybe soon, maybe not. Depends on if I have any ideas for my other pairings' fics that I feel like writing. Like, seriously weird pairings. E.g. Ball x Mei from _666 Satan_.

HOPE YOU ENJOYED & THANKS FOR READING! :)


	6. La Bamba

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the _Percy Jackson_ or _Heroes of Olympus _series, RR does.

* * *

**CHAPTER 6**

* * *

She was asking herself why she hadn't laughed at him. Or snorted maliciously. Or simply declined.

Why she'd agreed, she had no idea. She could guess the date she'd die and she'd be more sure of that than of what had made her follow him to that restaurant_ again_.

Walking in and taking the place in her sight, noticing Joe's kind smirk, she decided to blame it on the undeniable deliciousness of the meal they were going to have. Nothing more, nothing less. The food was what was important. It didn't have anything to do with who she was going to eat with.

They sat at a different table that time and she felt an unpleasant twitch in her gut when she'd suddenly remembered who'd been eating there last time they'd been around.

Yup, the lovebirds.

She shook her head, trying to get rid of the annoying thought. "Um... Is everything alright..?" she heard Leo's uncertain voice and straightened, alarmed.

"Yeah, I'm fine" she answered in a military sharpness, looking him in the eye and trying to show her domination she obviously had. Interesting, he didn't lower his eyes... He was staring at her kind of shyly, but didn't break the eye contact. Not many had done this earlier. Certainly interesting...

That was the first time Reyna had been looking at him for that long. Her eyes were terrifyingly intimidating but his common sense couldn't convince himself not to stare. How could he when the source of fear was so lovely? Not even once had he seen such dark eyes, the pupils almost undistinguishable because of their somber surroundings. If eyes truly were a mirror of the soul, hers showed the undiscovered depths of mystery deep inside of her. He suddenly wondered just how many secrets she was hiding and felt curiosity wash over him. Leo Valdez had always been an explorer, hadn't he?

Finally, she cleared her throat, waking him up from the reverie. "So" she started, hoping to sound casually "Shall we order?" she asked, looking in Joe's direction.

The waiter smiled at them mysteriously and went to the kitchen, shouting "Two plates of _pollo en fricasé_, on their way!" and laughing from gods knew what.

Whatever it was, Leo probably knew, because when she turned back to him, he gave her a sheepish smile, his cheeks flushing. She lifted her eyebrow. "What have you two been plotting..?" she asked, hitting the bull's eye as a paper napkin he was playing with fell from Leo's hands to the floor.

"_We..?_ You mean, me and Joe..?" he laughed nervously and bent in half to pick the napkin up from the floor. "There's nothing you should be worried about" he assured her, sounding almost convincing. _Almost_.

"_But there's something _I_ should worry about_" he thought, sending mental death glares to the big guy. Why it was that he could be perfectly fine when he turned off and went on lead by instinct, but when Joe had reminded him that he was trying to make a good impression, he immediately seemed to forget his famous hot stuff side? Losing the ability to flirt was certainly not helpful on a date.

Or whatever it was in her dictionary, at least...

He cleared his throat. "So..." he smiled weakly "How have you been..?" he asked, starting playing with the napkin again.

"Fine, thank you" she answered casually, linking her hands on the table top and raising her eyebrow in an anticipative look. Was he expecting her to lead the conversation? No way she was going to do that.

Fortunately, he seemed to had understood it was up to him to work on the dialogue. "Uh..." he parted his lips, thinking, which gave him a look of a fish in some way. Had the scientists already given some fish the name of the most stubborn Latino she knew? "You know, when I first came to LA, I didn't even dream of finding a place like this" he grinned, pleased with himself for finding a non-committal topic, throwing her out of the nonsense alley of her thoughts. Small steps, he'd been telling himself. "And now I can't imagine my life without it" he took every corner the place in his sight, his eyes dreamy.

"Why are you so worked up on the Caribbeans?" she found herself asking before she could have bitten her tongue. He was surprised that she interrupted his monologue so fast. Not that he was complaining. He smiled brightly, bulgy cheeks and all of their alluring additions present again... She was trying to ignore just how adorable one part of her brain still found it. It had to be its' breakdown or something. It would go away eventually.

"When I got to my high school back in the Big Apple, I wasn't so keen on the whole idea" he started saying, smoothing out the napkin he'd finally put down. "On the first day, before the lessons, I walked to a girl to introduce myself" he put his elbows on the table and leaned forward in her direction. Reyna sat straight despite one part of her mind urging to lean back on her chair, aware of the shrinking distance between them. "She was listening to music and offered me one of her earphones-"

"It's unhealthy to do so" Reyna cut into his speech with a look of disapproval on her face. Leo chuckled at her furrowed eyebrows. So she was cute when she was disgusted too, huh?

"I know, but I took it anyway. We were listening to David Rudder's _Calypso Music_ and I thought..." he hesitated.

"You thought..?" she pushed, not quite thinking about what she was doing.

"I thought that maybe that rhythm was a good sign..?" he mumbled, blushing and ruffling his locks. "And it was" he grinned at her. "That girl was Piper and she's been my best friend ever since" So that was how those two became the unrelated twins?

"A... pleasing story" she said, her gaze softening a bit.

"I know, right?" he grinned. "And then I fell deep into calypso. I was a member of a band back there, actually..." That surprised her. She couldn't imagine him playing any instrument. Could one do that, being in move all the time like he was?

"Really? What do you play?" curiosity made her ignore the sudden flush of kindness he could obviously hear in her voice.

He smiled and shook his head. "Nothing too fancy, just the Flamenco Guitar" he said, smiling even wider at the sight of her addicting eyes shining with excitement. Well, she _was_ trying to hide that, but it couldn't escape his almighty sight.

"What happened to the band after you moved?" her tongue-biting mechanism must had gone broken that day, she thought with annoyance. Don't be so elated, she reminded herself for the umpteenth time.

"The guys are still playing and I'm technically still a member" he answered, intrigued by her sudden interest in himself. Not that it didn't make his day. "When they finally find an occasion for a world tour, they'll tell me" he winked at her.

She rolled her eyes. "You do realize the chances are-" she froze, hearing the song that had just started playing on the radio.

Ritchie Valens' _La Bamba_.

Why did that place insist that she'd been reminded of the carefree years spent with her father every time she'd been there?! It had been his... No, _their_ favorite song... She remembered his bright smile, the skin by his eyes wrinkling, when he'd played it, like he always had, and had pulled out his hand, saying "_Echa pa'ca, princesa__!_" **[Come over here, princess!]** and lifting her in his arms to have a dance with her rapt younger self.

"Is something wrong..?" Leo's concerned voice and furrowed eyebrows brought her back to reality.

"Y-yeah..." she mumbled, not being able to take her eyes from the radio. The sudden flow of bittersweet memories was too much for her to resist.

"Oooh, you must love the song, right?" he asked, grinning, making her turn back to him sharply to see him pointing at her hand. Damn the unconscious rhythm tapping.

She felt her cheeks flushing. "Yeah, I do. My father-" and that time, her tongue was finally bitten just in time successfully. Leo smiled, one of the few times she'd actually seen him_ smile_, not grin or smirk or just do strange things with his mouth.

"He must be a great guy, huh? You've already mentioned him a couple of times" he said before he could have thought about what he was going to say. Her expression fell and she focused her sight on her hands.

"He's dead" she said quietly. Leo's eyes widened and he felt all blood leaving his face. He definitely was the biggest idiot in the whole universe for bringing that topic up. Damn, man, you were supposed to be cautious! _You_ were the one who knew best how hurtful parents' topic could be..!

"Uh... I'm sorry... I... Shouldn't have said that..." he muttered. She looked at him again and shook her head.

"You didn't know" she said in a soft voice, seeing how much pain in his eyes upsetting her had brought. No, it had to be something else. He wouldn't have already been so dependent on her mood, they barely knew each other, after all!

He looked at her, remnants of that painful sadness still present in his eyes. He smiled at her, a sorrowful smile that made her heart ache. It definitely was something else, he was carrying a shadow of his own tragedy for sure, she felt...

What interrupted their silent session of grievous stares was Joe bringing them their meal. "Uh..! Maybe I'll come later, kids..?" he chuckled nervously at the sight of their intense gazes.

Reyna broke the eye contact and looked at the waiter, trying to smile. "No, thank you very much" she said, not being able to see that Leo still couldn't keep his eyes off her.

* * *

**ZJeM, 13-27.01.14**

* * *

**From author:**

I wanted this chap to be full of teasing and stupid jokes but... It didn't go well. XD

Some teasing's gonna be present in chapter 7. :D

Thank you, MxMSupporter, for taking up playing the guitar and reminding me of _La Bamba_. Thanks to you, now we have a Caribbean loving a Latino song and a Latino in love with Caribbean rhythm. ;)

THANKS FOR READING! (and sorry for the wait ;))


	7. Teasing

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the _Percy Jackson_ or _Heroes of Olympus _series, RR does.

* * *

**CHAPTER 7**

* * *

They were eating in silence, both still thinking through what had happened. Strangely enough, it wasn't an awkward kind of quiet that one would usually experience with a total stranger. One part of her brain wanted to focus on wondering about that phenomenon but she gave it up, filled with the pleasure of the fabulous meal.

Joe had been cleaning glasses for a while, glancing at them from behind the counter with a deep wrinkle across his forehead. Leo wondered how the situation from a few moments had looked in the big guy's eyes. What could _he_ have read from Reyna's face..? Were Leo's notions completely pie-in-the-sky? Because there was absolutely no way Reyna could have looked at him like she cared _that_ much, right?

Not that he didn't _want_ her to care. He was just almost too used to the opposite scenario. It was always him trying hard and them, the gorgeous specimens of the female kind, treating him as if he'd been air, at best. After all, could he even be compared to the wide-shouldered Jason or blue-eyed Jason or Jason with the cute scar on his upper lip or _any_ other member of the soccer team? He wasn't the one to get the girls' attention, he'd never been. He wasn't even a nerd, for gods' sake, they_ found_ girlfriends in their pools of people! He alone was the group that sucked most - not entirely the brain but certainly not the brawn either. He'd learnt not to be bothered by that romantic ostracism too much. Of course, it didn't matter it didn't hurt every time, even a little. But he focused all his might on throwing such thoughts out of his head. Smile, Leo!

Although with Reyna it seemed to be harder than ever. Every little glimpse of her smile made his heart flip and his lungs suddenly fill with oxygen to the point it was hard not to suffocate from the overdose. Every one of her displeased grimace, on the contrary, made him want to hide in his bedding and never come out again.

He may not knew the exact cause of that occurrence, but he knew one thing: he'd been falling for her, and falling _hard_.

Too bad it was most likely going to be yet another of his letdowns...

"Well, well, well, look who we've found..." Leo froze, hearing a familiar voice, and felt his gut twitch unpleasantly. He had a feeling _her _presence certainly wouldn't help _any_ of his relationship issues...

"Hey, Thalia" he turned to the door to force a smile at the grinning black-haired woman, her nose covered in freckles. "Hi, Luke" he added as the handsome blond man came in after her, closing the door. Luke returned the smile, skin on his cheeks wrinkling and a scar on the left side of his face moving up.

"Hey, Leo. How's life-" he broke off abruptly, realizing the younger of them wasn't alone. Reyna turned around and smiled half-heartedly.

"Hello" she simply said. Thalia snorted.

"Ooh, are we interrupting anything?" she teased, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Luke looked at the turning red two with compassion.

Leo felt his ears getting hot. Could there be anything worse than indecent allusions made by one's former crush? _Especially_ when it was about a girl like Reyna. He could almost see the headline in the collage newspaper: _Some nobody killed in an accident in the Chemistry laboratory_.

"We're having lunch together, is it something to make fuss about..?" he mumbled, looking at his plate. Reyna glanced at him, somewhat interested. So he really hadn't been trying to catch her in his snare and just wanted them to have good time or was he just embarrassed and was trying to drive Jason's sister and her boyfriend off?

Luke embraced Thalia's waist and pulled her backwards. "C'mon, we'll find a table in a more secluded part of here" he said, smiling apologetically at the young pair.

Thalia frowned. "But I want to tease them a bit more, Luke!" she half-whined, looking at him with puppy eyes. Luke smirked.

"I can keep you too busy to have time for that, you know that..." he purred out in a husky voice. Thalia swallowed, a tiny little blush accompanying her freckles. She returned the smirk and grabbed his hand.

"Bring it on, tiger" she mumbled as they walked to the other side of the restaurant. Gods, had Leo _really_ seen her bite his earlobe just before they'd disappeared from his sight?! Spare the PDA, guys, would you?! Now he would have to scald his eyeballs...

He was just trying to dispose of his dismay when he noticed that Reyna was looking at him. Gods, was she going to run away once again? She'd done it when he'd overdone it with the speed of the things. And then, when he'd been as careful as he'd ever been able to be, had come Thalia and had quickened it all _again_! Damn, he'd been going to give Reyna time to think what kind of relation she wanted to have with the biggest loser at the campus (if she wanted to _at all_) but... It all went wrong, like _always_!

Maybe he should have expected that.

What made his thoughts crash roughly into a wall inside his mind was the sight of her smile. It wasn't an easy achievement for her but, seeing the panic in his eyes, she decided his intentions couldn't have been inapt. He'd really been trying hard for her to have a nice time and had wanted to prevent any awkward situations like the one from their first lunch together. She couldn't possibly be resistant to such effort, right?

"So... You're Thalia Grace's suggestive comments' victim too?" she asked, hoping to sound chilled out, which she certainly _wasn't_. He blinked a few times and frowned.

"Are you?" he answered with a question. She lowered her head but he could swear he'd seen her blush.

"Yeah... Kind of... I'd _been_ before Piper came" she smiled at him weakly, hoping to conceal the bitterness of the last sentence. She didn't even know why she was telling him all that but it just... seemed right at the moment.

Leo's eyes widened when the sentence sunk in. Oh. So she and Jason..? He knew they'd been friends since high school, _good _friends, to be exact, but he'd never expected their relationship to be... Well, _a relationship_..! But maybe he'd got it all wrong? He looked in the direction where Thalia and Luke had disappeared just a moment earlier. No, there had never been a single mistake in Thalia's teasing intuition field. So there really _was_ something to it..?

"Leo?" her voice stopped his train of thoughts. He focused his sight on her again and tried to smile. He felt his insides melt when she returned the smile. "Good, you're back" she added half-jokingly.

Wait. Reyna _joking_..? _That_ he'd never witnessed!

He grinned unconsciously. "Yeah, I am" he said. She didn't understand the inflow of her kindness towards him either but suddenly the whole lunch thing seemed like a really pleasant occurrence to her. He wasn't as bad as she'd thought he was, after all...

She looked at her watch out of habit. "Damn" she mumbled "My next class starts in half an hour" she looked at him, smiling apologetically.

"Oh" he just managed to mutter when she was standing up and taking her stuff from the chair. He stood up too, just when she'd taken out her wallet.

"How much do I have to pay back to you? For the last time, too" she asked, looking at him expectantly. Leo's eyes widened.

"What? No, you don't need to at all! I invited you, after all!" he rushed to say, putting his hands in front of him and shaking his head.

"I insist" she was relentless. Leo opened his mouth and closed it again, not knowing what to say. What saved him was Joe's bass, the big guy obviously trying not to laugh.

"It's all on the house, ma'am" he winked at her. Reyna frowned.

"Are you sure? I bet it's not the cheapest-" Joe finally laughed, interrupting her speech.

"Trust me, it's ok" he said. "And if I ever change my mind, I'll just use this gentleman" he pointed at Leo with a pen he was holding. Reyna looked at her companion with compassion.

"I'm sorry, I really have to go" she said, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I'll try to recompense you for it... somehow..." she added, smiling apologetically. She didn't know that her mere presence was a compensation too large for him already, not even talking about her smile.

"No, really" he chuckled shyly, ruffling his hair and hoping that she couldn't see just how thrilled he was. Small steps, one by one...

"Thank you" she said, running out of the restaurant and trying to convince herself that her heart thumping loudly in her chest was just the result of the run.

Leo finally lowered the hand that had been waving to her dreamingly even after she'd long disappeared.

Yeah, he'd been falling _extremely _hard for her...

* * *

**ZJeM, 31.01-07.02.14**

* * *

**From author:**

Haha, a new chap! :D

I know it doesn't bring much to the story but... Well, I follow Leo's rule: _Small steps..._

I hope you like it and aren't tired with the _nothing really happens _atmosphere already. ^^''

THANKS FOR READING!


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